Resident's jaw broken in attack before jewellery stolen

Geoff Egan
Journalist
Geoff has been working for the QT since August 2011 covering Ipswich’s rural areas. He started working for APN in January 2010 with the Chinchilla News in western Queensland after growing up on a grain farm. Geoff spends his time out of work watching far too much sport following the Reds, the Broncos and various American teams.

Related Items

Local Real Estate

Subscribe Now

ARMED with a gun, and with a friend waiting in the wings, William Rotoparera Taki burst into a Goodna home and brutally attacked a man inside.

On October 4 last year, the residents of the Goodna house were building a new home in Redbank Plains. They withdrew $10,000 earlier in the day, drove to the construction site and paid their renderer with it.

After they got home, they called a friend to invite him around for dinner. Twenty minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Thinking their friend had arrived early, the man opened the door.

He pointed the gun at the man's wife and kept asking for the money. He then hit the man in the head with the butt of the gun repeatedly, knocking him unconscious and breaking his jaw.

The woman grabbed a phone and redialled the friend they were expecting over, leaving the call open on the couch.

Taki grabbed the unconscious man and took him into a spare bedroom. The woman begged Taki not to hurt her, revealing she was pregnant. Taki began to rummage through the house, still asking about the money when a second man arrived, carrying a gym bag.

Not finding any money, they stole jewellery, worth more than $25,000, when there was another knock on the door. Taki answered it and found the friend who had been rung just minutes before.

Taki grabbed at the man who pulled back and fell down the stairs.

Seeing the gun in Taki's hand, he turned and ran. He was briefly chased by the two house invaders who got into a car, putting the bag of jewellery in the back and drove away.

Taki was found guilty by a jury at the Ipswich District Court of armed burglary in company with actual violence, stealing and causing grievous bodily harm.

He had admitted to the court to coming to the house and attacking the residents but denied having a weapon, going with another, or taking anything from the house.

Judge Deborah Richards said Taki had executed a terrifying home invasion.

"It seems what has happened was you somehow heard (the victims) had money in the house and you decided to go to the house and take it," she said.

"You assaulted (the victim) with the gun and when he was unconscious, continued to assault him."

Taki was sentenced to six years prison. He will be eligible to apply for parole in three years, in August, 2017.